I will not apologize......

Today starts Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Month. If you have ever met me or know anything about my family, this is something I am very passionate about.

I will not apologize if your facebook news feed, twitter, or instagram accounts are flooded with facts, statistics or heart wrenching photos about heart warriors and their fight to live. They did not ask to be born this way, nor did their parents do anything wrong to make them this way. It is the gift God gave them. These child are born with special challenges and the parents entrusted to make sure the warriors have every chance possible are amazing.

Did you know????

-Congenital heart defects (CHD's) are the #1 birth defect in the US and every other country

-Nearly 1 in every 100 babies are born with a CHD

-Congenital heart defects are the #1 cause of birth defect related deaths

-Congenital heart defects are the leading cause of all infant deaths in the United States

-Each year approximately 40,000 babies are born in the United States with a congenital heart defect. Thousands of them will not reach their first birthday and thousands more die before they reach adulthood

-Each year over 1,000,000 babies are born worldwide with a congenital heart defect. 100,000 of them will not live to see their first birthday and thousands more die before they reach adulthood

-More than 50% of all children born with congenital heart defect will require at least one invasive surgery in their lifetime.

-There are more than 40 different types of congenital heart defects. Little is known about the cause of most of them. There is no known prevention or cure for any of them.

-In the United States, twice as many children die from congenital heart defects each year than from all forms of childhood cancer combined, yet funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for CHD

This last statistic is the most shocking to me. It makes me shake my head every time I read it. When I think of our journey and how far we have come, kids like Madelynn are worth the funding so that other families never have to make this journey. Below is a video I made to celebrate Madelynn's 3rd Heart Anniversary.

If I have learned anything it is to celebrate EVERY small victory. Happy Heart Month!! #1in100